At Rs 100 cr, ATI scam tip of the iceberg, says report

Mangalore Today News Network

Mysore, Oct 17, 2014, DHNS: Amita Prasad, former director general of Administrative Training Institute (ATI), indulged in several irregularities, during her tenure from 2008-2014, causing losses to ATI and gains to private entities, a preliminary  inquiry by Rashmi Mahesh shows.

Rashmi, who has pressed for a CBI probe, said that the extent of the scam amounted close to Rs 100 crore. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Rashmi said.

Apart from Amita, IFS officer R Manoj, Prasad, joint director, social welfare, Rajashekarappa, assistant executive engineer, Sarveshwar, former warden of ATI, Nagaraj, deputy director of ATI and Nagendra, outsourced systems manager, have been named.

The irregularities pertained to training programmes at ATI, extending tenders for several services, entrusting works directly to private agencies violating the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act, and violation of reservation roster while appointing staff.

A total of Rs 65 crore was released to ATI under the 12th Finance Commission. “Under this, more than 765 files have been found, in which work less than Rs one lakh each have been taken up. Works have been split, no estimates prepared, no documentary evidence of work done and only details of payments to some agencies are seen,” Rashmi says in her report. The financial implication is Rs 17 crore.

For the auditorium project, exemption was taken under Section 4(g) of the KTPP Act, for works of Rs three crore. However, total payment made to KRIDL, the executing agency, was Rs seven crore.

No audit vouchers

Training programmes at ATI, Abdul Nazir Sab State Institute for Rural Development (SIRD) and State Institute of Urban Development (SIUD) were run on the system of cash advances and no audit vouchers were done. “The total misappropriation through this is at least Rs five crore in ATI and higher amount in SIRD and SIUD,” Rashmi says.

Posts were created by Amita without necessary sanctions. Contract staff were absorbed without sanction orders, faculty were appointed directly without application and selection process, and three manpower agencies were chosen without tender.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he has ordered an inquiry into the incident of attack on Rashmi.

Home Minister K J George said that the sub-inspector of Nazarbad police station has been suspended and 16 people have been arrested in this connection. The guilty will be punished, he said.